Here’s a nice article about the growth of the Church of the FSM in Australia. An interesting dynamic there is the every-five-year census that includes religious preference. The results of the census influence funding and social programs. Australia does not currently recognize the Church of the FSM as an “official” religion so Pastafarians are at a disadvantage. Still, it sounds like the situation is improving.

When Census night 2021 rolled around, Pirate Priestess Angela Carter and her husband Captain Colin “Cupcakes” Carter followed an instruction from their leader and selected the “no religion” option where the nationwide survey asked respondents about their religious affiliations.

Yet the Carters are actually among a growing number of Australians who consider themselves to be Pastafarians, or members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

They are also ministers and owners of the only recognised church of their faith in the country, but they checked the “no religion” box because they didn’t want to be counted as Christians in the census.

abc.net.au

Here is the article.

Apparently our website is blocked by some company firewalls because it is in the “cults” category. I am wondering how common this is — have many of you encountered this?

I want to share the Trailer from Mosey The Pirate – an upcoming game that features the Flying Spaghetti Monster in all of His glory. It’ll be available on Steam soon.

Some of the Australia-bound ordinations are coming back in the mail — there is some disruption to mail service because of Covid it sounds like. We are re-sending all the ones that have come back in the mail, but there may be more lost Ordinations that we don’t know about. If you’re still waiting on an Ordination please let me know (I emailed also). Sorry for the delay.

Happy Holidays everyone. Feel free to use the holiday e-Card machine to send greetings to your family and friends.

Many people have asked what is the Church’s stance on vaccinations and vaccination mandates.

Many have asked if we provide exemption letters.

I find it weird that religious exemptions are an accepted thing in general, seems like it would be best to leave public health policy to the most knowledgable, not religious leadership. But if Churches must take a position on the issue …

I am happy to announce that we are offering Official letters for those Pastafarians who would like to be exempt from working in proximity to the unvaxxed.

The unvaccinated may emit harmful virus particles which are forbidden to devout Pastafarians, therefore we expect all reasonable measures to be taken to help us avoid these virus particles. Please respect our religious liberty.

Create your letter here with this form I made. Enter your information to get an Official letter (PDF).